Lufthansa wants Air Berlin long-haul planes: source

Lufthansa aims to take on around a dozen of Air Berlin’s 17 long-haul aircraft and their transatlantic routes in a carve-up of the insolvent carrier, a person familiar with the matter said Tuesday. Air Berlin filed for bankruptcy protection this month after shareholder Etihad Airways withdrew funding following years of losses. At least half a dozen bidders for Air Berlin’s assets are now racing to submit offers by a mid-September deadline, with around 140 leased aircraft and valuable take-off and landing slots in Germany up for grabs. Lufthansa, which currently does not offer long-haul flights from Berlin, is especially interested in the carrier’s routes to US cities including New York, the source said Tuesday. Lufthansa, which has the German government’s backing to take over major parts of Air Berlin, could acquire as many as 90 of its planes, including 38 aircraft it is already leasing from the airline and its leisure unit Niki, another source told Reuters this month.<br/>